h2o_polo_boi

I want to start trying them out because I heard intervals was good for raising my LT and I want a higher top end speed than just 31 mph lol. I've been riding for a year. When you guys do the fast intervals, do you shift up and mash or spin and are you in your saddle or out? I'm a bit confused when they say hard and easy because they don't really specify the description of a hard interval.

jsigone

intervals are done right under your LT, 10sec, 30sec, 60, and so forth.

I like doing interval on hills because it forces you to recover while still under load.

waterrockets 

Intervals are specified by duration and effort. I do some intervals all-out, and some of them I pace, depending on the workout. For instance, all my intervals are all-out TTs for the given duration, so I will be gassed at the end. On the other hand, my hill repeats (which are essentially 3:55 intervals) are paced so that I can climb the hill a second or two faster each successive hill repeat -- but that's to train pacing more than just fitness.

Most of my intervals end with me well above LTHR.

Sprints are a different animal. They are explosive, out of the saddle, hands in the drops, laying down as much power as possible for 15s or so. I usually map out 200m landmarks (25 revs in a 53/14). Then I roll up to the line at 20mph, and sprint from there, in about my 53/15, and don't shift. Sometimes I do standing starts from the line in a 53/16 or 53/17. Sometimes I sprint off a training partner's leadout.

Duke of Kent

There's a difference between a sprint interval and raising your LT.

"LT" boosting intervals are generally 5-30 minutes in length, or up to an hour long. "Sprints" are intervals generally about 20 seconds long, or less. A sprint is a sprint; you get up out of the saddle and throw down 100% power and shift up when you feel your acceleration dropping off.

The two don't really have much in common.

A typical LT workout is 2x20min at a hard pace/HR/RPE/wattage. A sprint workout would be 2 sets of 10x15sec, with a couple of minutes between each sprint rep.

Hard = it hurts. Sometimes really bad. Begging for that clock to hit 20min.

Tri-FatBoy

Hard... depends, normally I go two notches below puking.

Dubbayoo

True sprint training should be a 100% max effort with a full recovery in between. They are not really intervals. A track sprinter may only do 4-5 hard efforts in a 2 hour time frame.

ejm876

Don't laugh at me:

How do you find your LT?

kukusz

https://www.velonews.com/train/articles/8217.0.html

waterrockets 

A sports physiologist can test you on a treadmill or trainer, and give you the most accurate number from a series of blood tests.

The official way with an HRM is to work a max-effort at a 60-minute pace (like a full-on TT), then your average HR is your LTHR.


That 60-minute test is prone to a lot of error due to motivation, so sometimes predicting LTHR from shorter tests is the best way to go. For instance, one of my legs will fall asleep before I can ride at my LTHR for 60 minutes, which will lower my HR rapidly. So, something like this...
https://www.performancetrainingsystem...tips_lttp.html

CastIron

I chase cars in traffic. It's not without precedent to bark as well.

kensuf

It hurts, but it's the best numbers you can get.

rockabilly808

dumber question than how to find your LT, what IS your LT? real helpful thread I may add

h2o_polo_boi

Lactate Threshold (LT) is the point where your body goes anaerobic. In other words, lactic acid is building up faster than it is being metabolized (cleared out). Your cells no longer use oxygen as the primary source of energy. Thus, you cannot sustain being anaerobic for long before your body runs out of energy and your muscles refuse to contract from the acidic environment. Correct me if I'm wrong guys.

Dubbayoo

This BF. Someone will correct you even if you aren't.

h2o_polo_boi

so there are 2 goals on my commute.

1. to have a faster average speed each time (today i clocked in at 21.68 mph avg)
2. to have a higher top end sprint speed

the ultimate goal would be to go as fast if not faster than cars. that way my friends can't laugh at me anymore. The commute by car averages 30 mph at most.

what routines or workouts do you guys recommend? The only time I have to workout/ride with my busy schedule is during my commute which is 20-30 minutes each way. Going to school I have a formidable 10% average grade hill for 0.75 miles.

Gerrylightning

Try the "Cyclist Training Bible" it's a good read and will answer a lot of your questions, I found it a big help.

h2o_polo_boi

own it and read it lol. although that is a great book, it is a bit too hardcore for me. it is geared more towards the dedicated racing cyclist and requires a lot of thought as well as planning. unfortunately, i don't have that luxury. i just want to get the best with what i have at the moment which is my commute.

AlexTaylor

Or Chris Carmichael's Lance Armstrong training manual. That's what I started using four weeks ago and I am improving rather rapidly.
If you are doing your commute at an average of over 30mph then you should enter some national time trials!

Pendergast

Adding some 30-30 VO2 max(Friel Zone 5b) intervals would be pretty simple and not clash too much with traffic if you have to contend with that on your commute. Thirty seconds at VO2 max followed by thirty seconds of recovery, just sort of play it by ear on the number of reps.

Gerrylightning

Page 254 Appendix C has a workout menu one of these are sure to help and remember, quality is most important.

kensuf

186.

h2o_polo_boi

If I recall correctly, isn't Zone 5b and VO2 max an all out sprint? Should I be out of the saddle and in the drops or spinning at around 110 rpm on the highest gear I can maintain?

Pendergast

It's not all out. Perceived exertion is 9 on a scale of 1-10. I'd do them seated and in the drops and not more than a couple of days a week because you'll need time to recuperate between sessions. Good thing about them being such short intervals is that you can fine tune the number of reps you need(or want) to do pretty easily.

ElJamoquio

An incredibly counter-productive way to train, if your goal is consistent and sustained improvement.

Duke of Kent

If you actually read Friel's book, and took the time to comprehend ANY of it, you wouldn't be asking these questions.

Get a HRM, do some testing, and determine your zones. Go from there. It's pretty damn easy.